‘Fifty Shades of Black’ Trailer: Marlon Wayans Will See You Now in This Untimely Spoof

Only a few months after Marlon Wayans announced his Fifty Shades of Grey spoof, the first trailer for Fifty Shades of Black has arrived. From the man who brought you Scary Movie 2, A Haunted House and A Haunted House 2 comes a different kind of horror spoof with what already feels like a dated concept. In keeping with contemporary spoof efforts, the trailer for Fifty Shades of Black is filled with “Hey, remember this pop culture thing from six months ago?” moments.

The trailer for Fifty Shades of Black will make you long for the days of Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Remember Kim Kardashian’s photo shoot that “broke the internet”? Remember Magic Mike? It’s unfortunately become common for spoofs to rely on pop culture recognition for humor instead of actual jokes, but if you’re looking for those, the height of Wayans’ comedic sensibility comes in the form of an overweight woman crushing him in a strip club.

The problem with these modern film spoofs is that pop culture is consumed, digested and forgotten in a matter of hours thanks to the internet, which makes so many of these jokes feel outdated. But the trailer does have at least a couple of decent things going for it: a solid whip gag and actress Kali Hawk, whom you’ll probably recognize from her roles in Bridesmaids, Couples Retreat and New Girl.

Wayans co-wrote Fifty Shades of Black with Rick Alvarez, who also worked with him on A Haunted House and its sequel. Their new film co-stars Fred Willard, Mike Epps and Jane Seymour, and arrives in theaters on January 29, 2016.